Party Like A Rock Star

When Annabel and I started talking a few months ago about her birthday party, she was very firm that she wanted a “Rock Star Dance Party.” She actually wanted the dance truck that we hired for James’ first birthday, but that company has unfortunately gone out of business. After looking around for a similar company, it occurred to me that we didn’t need a fancy truck. Instead, I thought it would be cool to transform our front room into a club.

After going back and forth about it in my head, I decided to have the party start at 5pm instead of 11am. I had a few reasons for this, the biggest being it wouldn’t interfere with guests’ sport commitments, and it gave us all day to prepare. The start time turned out to be an even smarter move when, a week before the party, I received a notice that the power would be out in the entire neighborhood for maintenance from 8am to 1pm. Annoying, but at least the power would be back on at 1pm. Except…it wasn’t.

Around 1:45, I was annoyed, but by 2pm I was mad. I called the power company and was told they were “hopeful” that they power would be back on by 4pm. I had about 8,000 panic attacks, but luckily the power came back a little after 3…just in time, because the DJ arrived at 3:30! Crisis averted.

To make “Club Spohr,” we cleared the furniture out of our front room to make a large dance floor area. My dad and I covered one wall with purple butcher paper (I get it on Amazon), then decorated it with posters I found in teen magazines.

Those are real records and no, the kids had NO idea what they were.

The centerpiece was a cartoon drawing I had done by Sandy Ford Designs from Etsy (she also did Annabel’s Superhero drawing from a few years ago) that I had printed at Costco. Annabel LOVED it! I also used the drawing to make VIP badges for all the kids.

When the party guests arrived, they walked the “purple carpet,” something the birthday girl requested. Speaking of the birthday girl, she was aaaaallllllll decked out:

Annie spotted a friend right when this pic was taken.

I raided the Dollar Store and Oriental Trading to find all sorts of fun stuff for the girls to use to turn themselves into rock stars. We had tutus, rubber bracelets, VIP badges, party beads, mesh gloves, inflatable guitars, you name it (those were also their party favors). We also had other musical touches throughout the party:

I made this on Poster My Wall, such a fun site.

The thing Annabel (and I) were most excited about was the DJ. I found DJ Bee through Gigsalad and she was an absolute DREAM. She made sure to bring all of Annabel’s requests (Annabel spent DAYS making a list of songs), plus tons of KidzBop and other clean, kid-friendly hits. She also dressed in a hot pink Justin Bieber T-Shirt, taught the kids a bunch of dances, and even brought Annabel a present.

All the kids LOVED her, but my kids were absolutely obsessed.

James on the mic. “Check check check!”

Annabel got to lay special effects over a Taylor Swift song.

Since I volunteer in Annabel’s classroom, I know kids her age LOVE crafts. I also knew the dance floor might be a little overwhelming or exhausting. So, we set up a craft area overlooking the dance floor so the kids could be comfortable but still part of the party. We had a bunch of different supplies (jewels, stickers, construction paper, glitter glue, etc) to decorate cardboard guitars and plastic microphones. It was a huge hit!

We also had a pull-string piñata…instead of going outside, I just had Mike hold it high up so the girls could tear it open. LOL

And of course, cake:

I loved watching the kids on the dance floor. They danced their faces off, plus DJ Bee was awesome and let them sing into her microphones.

Or…try to. Hahahaha

I also think it was one of the best days of James’ life! That kid loves music and dancing so much. When DJ Bee had to end the party, he was heartbroken. Luckily, the party didn’t end until he’d danced to Uptown Funk…several times.

Of course, Annabel was completely in her element. She was beaming all night, laughing with her friends, singing, and having a blast. When I asked her what her favorite part was, she said, “All of it!”

I’m so glad she was so happy!

I told all the parents that my goal was for their kids to sleep HARD, and if my kids were any indication, I achieved it! Annabel and James were out about 10 seconds after their heads hit the pillows…which was good, because I was exhausted, too!